Rectangular basket



L. M. HILE Jan. 2, 1934.

Filed July 2e, 19:50

Patented Jan. 2, 1934 PATENT .r1-fici:

3 Claims.

This invention relates to rectangular baskets, andmore particularly to baskets of this kind that taper downwardly, having atside walls rein'- forced by cleats and binding wires. Y

Generally stated, the object of the invention is to provide a noveland vimproved construction whereby said cleats are of relatively thin material, being in the form of. flat strips which are much wider than they are thick, and which cleats are beveled at their ends, outside the top or upper portion of the basket, said vbeveledends providing in effect rounded upperV corners vfor the basket, with the binding wire extending snugly and tightly around these corners and along the outer sides of the cleats.

VAnother object is to provide a novel and improved construction whereby the bottom of the basket is formed by inner cleats which are beveled at their ends, where they meet inside of the basket, these cleats also being substantially Wider than they are thick, and being in the form of flat strips secured to the inner sides of the basket, at the bottom thereof, thereby forming a support for a flat or other suitable bottom wall for the basket.

It is also an object to provide certain details and features of construction tending to increase the general eiliciency and the desirability of a wirebound rectangular basket of this particular character.

To these and other useful ends, the invention consists in matters hereinafter set forth and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawing in which- Fig. 1 is a perspective of a basket embodying the principles of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a detail vertical section of one upper side of the basket, indicating a cover disposed in position at the top ofthe basket.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a flat blank from which the basket may be formed.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of one upper corner of the basket, in plan view.

Asrthus illustrated, the invention comprises the sheets or side wall sections 1, 2, 3, and 4, provided at their upper ends with the outside slats or other cleats 6, and at their lower ends with the inside at cleats or slats 7, the cleats 6 being on the outside of the basket, as shown. The binding wire 8 is secured to the cleats 6 by staples 9 that extend through the cleats and the side walls and are clinched on the inner sides of the basket. The bottom binding wire 10 is secured by staples l1 to the sheets or side wall sections 1, 2, 3, and 4, the staples 11 extending through the sheets and'through the cleats and being clinched on the inner sides of these cleats.

It will be observedV that 'the cleats 6 extend at one end beyond the edgesv ofY the side walls,

and are flush: with theother edges of Ythe side,V

walls at their other ends. .It will also be seen that the cleats 7 are shorter and are flush with the edgesof the sheets at one end, butstop short of the other edges of the sheets Lat the other end. The' sheets or side wall sections 12, 3, and

4 taper downwardly, and hence the blank vshown in Fig. 3 is in eiect curved, whereby a downwardly tapered basket is provided when the blank is foldedlasshown in Fig.1 of the drawing. At such time the sheets or side walls overlap at their edges, providing tight corners vfor the basket Y or receptacle, such overlapping being made possible by the relative lengths of the cleats, as previously described.

A middle wire 12 is preferably applied to the basket, and held in place by staples 13 which are clinched on the inner sides of the basket. In use, when the blank is reduced to basket form, a bottom wall 14 is applied to the upper edges of the battens or flat cleats '7, and may beV secured in place in any suitable or desired manner. This bottom helps to brace or stiffen the basket. Also, a top cover 15, of any suitable character, is preferably applied to the upper edges of the side walls, as shownin Fig. 2 of the drawing, the outer edges of thistop cover abutting against the inner sides of the battens of flat cleats 6 as shown. Said cover may be secured in place by any suitable known or approved means. Such a cover, set down into the top of the basket, serves A,

materially to brace or stiffen the basket. l

As shown more clearly inFig. 4, it will be seen that the binding wire 8 extends tightly and snugly around the upper corners of the basket, the cleats 6 being-beveled at their ends at 16 to provide flattened areas whereby in effect the upper corners of the basket are rounded. The thin end edgesof these cleats come together, and their bevels are at the same angle, so that the bevel of one cleat is in line with and at the same plane as the bevel of the adjacent cleat, whereby when the blank is folded the wire 8 is placed more or less under tension and will tightly hug these flattenedor in effect rounded corners thus provided for the top of the basket.

The lower cleats 7, it will be seen, are also beveled at their` ends, but their bevels meet inside the basket, as shown.

A blank of this kind, inasmuch as the cleats have no interlocking ends, and have relatively Vthin battens or flat strips serving as cleats, is easily folded, and provides a comparatively smooth and trim basket, and as the baskets are tapered downwardly, they can be nested tightly together for storage or shipment, with their sides practically tight together, and with their outside cleats spaced one above another in the nested stack.

The blanks can even be shipped flat, and the baskets can be set up by the users, it being understood that the ends of the binding wires are twisted together at one corner of the basket. The mouth of the container is unrestricted, and the inner surfaces of the sides are smooth and unobthe blank would form a ring,. but lthe blank as.

shown'is only a section of such ring, and is practically a curved blank.

' What I claim as my invention is:V 1. A wirebound rectangular container mad from a practically curved blank comprising downwardly tapered non-flexible side Walls spaced in the blank and overlapping at their edges in the `downwardly converging corners of the ultimate container, forming entirely iiat'sections of the blank, outside straight cleats of uniform length secured to the upper end edges of said walls, with one end of each cleat projecting beyond the edge of the wall, said cleats being relatively formed at their ends, and a binding wire extending along the outer sides of said cleats and snugly around Vtheir ends, whereby the wide ends of said walls are .the same distance apart in the practically curved blank as the narrow ends thereof, so that each section of the blank is disposed at an angle to the other sections thereof, when the iiat blank is viewed from above, said wire being held in place by staples inserted through the cleats and side walls, whereby the flnishedrcontainer tapers downwardly, with the mouth of the container unrestricted, and with the inner surfaces of the sidesi smooth and unobstructed, whereby a plurality of containers may be nested tightly together with said cleats disposed one above another.

2. A structure as specified in claim l, said cleats being of a width to extend beyond the upper edges of said Vside walls of the container, and a coverresting on said upper edges, the edges of thecover abutting against the inner sides of said cleats.

3. A structureas specified in claim 1, comprising relatively short inside straight cleats for the lower end of said container, these insidecleats being beveled at their ends Where they meet at the corners of the container, and a bottom wall resting onV said inside cleats, together withV an outside binding wire stapled to the side walls and the inside cleats.

VLESLIEM. 

